Storage network system, managing apparatus managing method and program

ABSTRACT

A storage network system includes computers, storage systems, connection devices that control connection relations between the computers and the storage system, and a managing device that manages the computers, the storage system and the connection devices. The managing device includes a control section that specifies connection ports of the computers, the storage system and the connection devices that compose the storage network system. Further, the control device of the managing device displays on a display section a data traffic amount at each of the connection ports for each connection path from the computer to the storage system.

The present application is a continuation application of Ser. No.11/196,441, filed Aug. 4, 2005, which is a continuation of applicationSer. No. 10/424,883, filed Apr. 28, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,093,011,the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a storage managing system, and moreparticularly to a storage managing system that has a function to assistin identifying bottleneck sections in a storage system.

RELATED BACKGROUND ART

A conventional storage managing system is capable of indicatingconnection relations among devices in storage system on a managementmonitor screen. Also, the storage managing system is capable ofdisplaying the data traffic amount of each of the devices displayed onthe management monitor screen in the unit of connection] ports or in theunit of individual devices.

The aforementioned conventional storage managing system does not displayon the management monitor screen the data traffic amount of each of thedevices in terms of connection relation among the devices in the storagesystem. Accordingly, when a bottleneck section in the storage system isto be specified, an administrator initially needs to select ports to bereferred to on the management monitor screen that displays theconnection relations among the devices, and then refer to the datatraffic amount of each of the connection ports of the devices on thestorage system to locate the bottleneck section. For this reason, itneeds an excessively long time and much work for the administrator tospecify the bottleneck section.

After having specified the bottleneck in the storage system, theadministrator first needs to refer to the management monitor screen thatindicates the connection relations among the devices, then refer to thedata traffic amount of each of the connection ports of the devices onthe storage system, judges himself a new path to be selected to solvethe bottleneck, and execute a path switching processing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to assisting network administrators inspecifying bottleneck sections occurred in a storage system.

The present invention also relate to assisting network administrators inswitching paths to solve bottleneck sections in a storage system.

An embodiment of the present invention pertains to a storage networksystem that includes at least a computer, a storage system, a connectiondevice that controls a connection relation between the computer and thestorage system, and a managing device that manages the computer, thestorage system and the connection device. The storage network system,and more preferably the managing device may have a control section thatspecify connection ports of the computer, the storage system and theconnection device that compose the storage network system. Further, thecontrol device of the managing device may display on a display section adata traffic amount at each connection port for each connection pathfrom the connection port in the computer to the connection port in thestorage system.

In the storage network system in accordance with the embodimentdescribed above, the control section of the managing device maypreferably measure the access time from the computer to each of theconnection ports of the connection device and/or the storage system andthe data traffic amount at each of the connection ports, specify any ofthe connection ports at which the access time and the data trafficamount are synchronized with each other, and display the data trafficamount of the specified connection port on the display section in amanner distinguishable from the other connection ports.

Furthermore, in accordance with another embodiment of the presentinvention, the control section of the managing device may preferablymeasure the access time for each connection path from the connectionport in the computer to the connection port in the storage system, andspecify connection ports in the computer, the storage system and theconnection device on a specified one of the connection paths when theaccess time on the specified connection path exceeds a specifiedallowable time range. Also, the control section of the managing devicemay preferably display the data traffic amount for each of theconnection ports on the display section.

In the embodiment described above, when the data traffic amount for anyof the connection ports displayed on the display section exceeds apredetermined reference value, the control section of the managingdevice may preferably judge that the connection port is overloaded, anddisplay on the display section that the connection port is overloaded.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, thecontrol section of the managing device may preferably specify thecomputer, the storage system or the connection device that compose thestorage network system, and display on the display section the datatraffic amount for each connection path from the computer to the storagesystem for each of the computer, the storage system and the connectiondevice.

In accordance with the embodiment described above, the control sectionof the managing device may preferably judge that the computer, thestorage system or the connection device is overloaded when the datatraffic amount for each of the computer, the storage system or theconnection device displayed on the display section exceeds apredetermined reference value, and may preferably indicate on thedisplay section that the computer, the storage system or the connectiondevice is overloaded.

Furthermore, the control section of the managing device may preferablyspecify another connection path that is shared by the connection portthat is determined to be overloaded, and display on the display sectionthe data traffic amount for each connection port on the other connectionpath.

Moreover, the control section of the managing device may preferablyspecify another connection path that is shared by the storage system orthe connection device that is determined to be overloaded, and displayon the display section the data traffic amount of the computer, thestorage system or the connection device on the other connection path.

Also, in the embodiment described above, a connection path between atleast two connection devices or a connection path between at least acomputer and a storage system may preferably be shared by an access pathto a plurality of computers and a plurality of storage systems.

Further, in the embodiment described above, the control section of themanaging device may preferably judge, when the data traffic amount at aconnection port of the connection device displayed on the displaysection exceeds a specified reference value, that the connection deviceis overloaded, generate a control signal for switching paths toeliminate the overload according to the data traffic amount for eachconnection port, and transmit the control signal through an interface tothe connection device or the storage system that composes the storagenetwork system.

Also, in the embodiment described above, the control section of themanaging device may preferably judge, when the data traffic amount at aconnection port of the storage system displayed on the display sectionexceeds a specified reference value, that the storage system isoverloaded, generate a copy control signal for copying data stored inthe storage system onto another storage system to eliminate the overloadaccording to the data traffic amount for each connection port, andtransmit the copy control signal through an interface to the storagesystem or the connection device.

Moreover, the control section of the managing device may preferablygenerate an access control signal for switching the access from thestorage system that is determined to be overloaded to the other storagesystem that stores the copied data, and transmit the access controlsignal through an interface to the connection device and the storagesystem or the connection device.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings that illustrate, by way of example, variousfeatures of embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically shows a system structure of a storage managingsystem.

FIG. 2 schematically shows a structure of a storage system.

FIG. 3 schematically shows a hardware structure of each computer.

FIG. 4 shows a networking concept of a storage managing system.

FIG. 5 shows a networking concept of a storage managing system.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of a procedure to search a bottleneck section.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of a procedure to search a bottleneck section.

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of a procedure to switch paths for leveling offthe load.

FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of a procedure to switch physical disk volumesfor leveling off the load.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a managing screen image for searching abottleneck section.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a managing screen image for searching abottleneck section.

FIGS. 12( a), 12(b) and 12(c) show tables of data structures in amanaging information database.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a system structure of a storage network system inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

As indicated in FIG. 1, in the storage network system in accordance withthe present embodiment, a managing computer (101) collects managementinformation from a storage system (102) to be managed, and conducts astorage management of the management information. The managing computer(101) also provides setting instructions including switching of accesspaths to equipments that are to be managed. The managing computer (101)may be composed of a management target composing information collectionfunction (109) that collects information concerning attributeinformation of each device and connection relation among devices from atarget system to be managed, a traffic information collection function(110) that collects information of data traffic amount of eachconnection port of each equipment, a managing information database 106that stores and manages the collected management target composinginformation and traffic information, a bottleneck analyzing function(105) that searches a performance bottleneck section based on themanagement information, a path switching judging function (103) thatsets an appropriate switching method for leveling off the load for thebottleneck section, and a path switching function (105′) that instructstarget equipments to be managed to switch the paths. The target storagesystem to be managed is equipped with management agents (114), (115) and(116) at corresponding equipments. Each of the management agents at eachequipment responds to requests from the managing computer (101) withmanagement information designated by the managing computer (101) andexecutes changes of compositions as instructed by the managing computer(101).

FIG. 2 shows a system composition of the managing computer (201) and atarget storage system to be managed in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention. It is noted that the number of equipments such ascomputers, switches and the like shown in the drawing may notnecessarily limited to those shown in the drawing. The managing computer(201) connects to a computer A (202) and a computer B (203). Thecomputer A (202) includes access ports CA1 and CA2 for accessing tostorage apparatuses, and the computer B (203) includes an access portCB1 for accessing to storage apparatuses. A switch A (204) includes anaccess port SA1 from the computer A, and an access port SA2 to a storageapparatus A (207). A switch B (205) includes an access port SB1 from thecomputer A, an access port SB2 to the storage apparatus A and an accessport SB3 to a storage apparatus B (208). A switch C (206) includes anaccess port SC1, an access port SC2 to the storage apparatus A and anaccess port SC3 to the storage apparatus B. The storage apparatus A(207) includes an access port STA1 from the switch A and the switch B,an access port STA2 from the switch C. The storage apparatus B (208)includes an access port STB1 from the switch B and an access port STB2from the switch C. The storage apparatus A is composed of physical disksA1 (209) and A2 (210), which are assigned volume 1 (213) and volume 2(214), respectively, that are logical access units as viewed from thecomputers. The volume 1 (213) and volume 2 (214) are correlated with theaccess ports STA1 and STA2, respectively. Similarly, the storageapparatus B is composed of physical disks B1 (211) and B2 (212), whichare assigned volume 3 (215) and volume 4 (216), respectively, that arelogical access units as viewed from the computers. The physical disks B1(211) and B2 (212) are correlated with the access ports STB1 and STB2,respectively. By the structure described above, accesses can be madefrom the port CA1 of the computer A through the switch A to the volumeIon the storage apparatus A; and accesses can be made from the port CA2of the computer A through the switch B to the volume 1 on the storageapparatus A and through the switch B to the volume 3 on the storageapparatus B. Also, accesses can be made from the port CB1 of thecomputer B through the switch C to the volume 2 on the storage apparatusA and through the switch C to the volume 4 on the storage apparatus B.The managing computer has communication paths that enable directcommunication to all of the equipments. The communication paths arestructured such that management information can be collected fromequipments in the system and composition settings can be made to theequipments through the communication paths.

FIG. 3 shows a structure of the managing computer in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

The managing computer (201), which may be composed of a computer, isequipped with a central processing unit (302) that executes commandssuch as operations, a main storage apparatus (301) that stores datanecessary for the operations, a network control apparatus (303) thatcontrols input/output of data with a communication line (305) and alocal area network (304), a display apparatus (308), and a displaycontrol apparatus (309) that controls input/output of data to bedisplayed by the display apparatus (308).

The central processing unit (302) executes programs loaded on the mainstorage apparatus (301). Programs that are loaded on the main storageapparatus (301) may be stored in a disk recording apparatus (306) inadvance, loaded on the main storage apparatus (301) as necessary, andexecuted by the central processing unit (302). Alternatively, a portablytype storage medium not shown in the drawings, such as, for example, aCD-ROM may be used to store the programs. The programs stored on thestorage medium may be read out by a disk recording media reading devicethat may be portable, which is omitted from the drawings, directlyloaded on the main storage apparatus (301) as necessary, and executed bythe central processing unit (302). Or, the programs stored on thestorage medium may be read out by the disk recording media readingdevice, installed on the disk recording apparatus (306), loaded on themain storage apparatus (301) as necessary, and executed by the centralprocessing unit (302).

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 6, an analysis procedure performed by thebottleneck analyzing function of the managing computer is describedbelow.

The procedure starts with an event (601) in which, at the port CA2 ofthe computer A, the access time to the storage apparatuses exceeds apredetermined allowable range. Here, connection ports that can beaccessed from the port CA2 at this moment include the ports SB1, SB2 andSB3 of the switch B, the port STA1 of the storage apparatus A, and theport STB1 of the storage apparatus B (which corresponds to an areasurrounded by a dotted line in FIG. 4). Also, the port CA2 eventuallyaccess the volume 1 on the storage apparatus A and the volume 3 on thestorage apparatus B. Information concerning connecting relation amongthe apparatuses are collected in advance from the management agents ofthe respective apparatuses by the management target composinginformation collection function on the managing computer shown inFIG. 1. The collected information is stored in the management data baseand managed, and the bottleneck analyzing function refers to theinformation when the analysis procedure is executed (602).

The bottleneck analyzing function refers to the management database, anddisplays data traffic amounts of the ports listed, and accessing loadsto the physical disks within the storage apparatuses in a format shownin FIG. 10, for example, (603) and (604). In the illustrated exampleshown in FIG. 10, it is understood that there is no problem in the datatraffic amount at each port, but accesses are concentrated on thephysical disk A1 in the storage apparatus. It is noted that themanagement target composing information collection function on themanaging computer may periodically collect the data traffic amountinformation and load information from the management agents of therespective apparatuses, and store and manage them on the managementdatabase; and the bottleneck analyzing function can refer to them whenthe analysis procedure is executed.

Next, referring to FIGS. 5 and 7, a procedure to search a connectionpath starting from one of volumes that share the physical disk andleading to a computer that uses these volumes is described.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the volume 2 is selected as a volume thatshares the physical disk A1, and a connection path starting from theaccess port STA2 to this volume is searched (701) and (702). A port thataccesses to the port STA2 is the port SC2 of the switch C, and the portSC2 is accessed from the port CB1 of the computer B through the port SC1of the switch C (which corresponds to an area surrounded by a dottedline in FIG. 5). In a similar manner to the procedure shown in FIG. 6,the data traffic amount of each of the ports is displayed in a list. Anexample of the search result is shown in FIG. 10. By this, it isunderstood that the data traffic from the port CB1 of the computer B isheavy, and this consequently pushes up the access load to the physicaldisk A1 of the storage apparatus A.

The display monitor screens (1001) displayed by the bottleneck analyzingfunction in FIGS. 10 and 11 show the data traffics at the respectiveports on the connection path in a list (1002), and also show time-wisechanges of the data traffics in a graph (1003) together with theinformation of the multiple ports.

FIGS. 12( a), 12(b) and 12(c) show examples of tables of the managementdatabase and their data that are used by the bottleneck analyzingfunction. FIG. 12( a) shows a table (1201) that manages the compositioninformation about target equipments to be managed, which is used tomanage information for apparatuses (nodes) and ports on the apparatuses,and destination ports that are connected. Connection relations among theapparatuses can be created based on this information. FIG. 12( b) showsa table (1202) that manages data traffic amounts of the respectiveports. The data traffic amounts may be managed by a variety of methods.For example, the data traffic amounts may be managed with values such aspast values, average values for a predetermined period of time, or thelike. Or, for example, the data traffic amounts may be managed bysuccessively storing values as is that are periodically collected. Thegraphs displayed in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 need the latter data managementmethod. FIG. 12( c) shows a table (1203) that manages relations betweenports on the storage apparatuses, physical disks and volumes.

As a method for further tracking down a bottleneck factor in thebottleneck analysis procedure indicated in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, a methodthat uses synchronization of a matrix can be applied. By utilizingmultiple regression analysis, for example, data traffic at a port thathas the highest synchronization with changes of access time from theconnection port on the computer to the storage apparatus and accessloads to the storage apparatus can be listed up in the order ofpriority.

By applying the bottleneck analysis procedure described above, necessaryinformation can be checked in a table, as compared to a conventionalmethod in which the data traffic at each of the apparatuses isindividually checked by an administrator. Accordingly, problems can bemore quickly discovered, and the work load to administrators can bealleviated.

Next, an example of a processing procedure of the switching judgingfunction, which is aiming at leveling off the load on the storagesystem, is described with reference to FIG. 8.

First, when a port on an access path to the storage apparatus isoverloaded, the following procedure is performed. The procedure includesdisplaying a list of the access paths through other switches to the samevolume on the storage apparatus from a port on the same computerdifferent from the port whose access time exceeds a predetermined limit,and displaying data traffics on the respective access paths (801).

The administrator refers to the data traffic amounts, and selects one ofthe access paths from the list of the access paths (802).

The data traffic amount on the access path before switching is added tothe one on the selected path, and then data traffic at each of the portson the access path is displayed (803).

If any of the ports exceeds a predetermined traffic amount, anotheraccess path is selected, and the procedure from 803 is repeated. If thisdoes not happen, the access path is selected, and a switchinginstruction to switch the ports is given through the path switchingfunction of the computer (805). The computer that receives the switchinginstruction switches the port and can now access to the storageapparatus through an access path corresponding to the switched port. Fora zone setting, a switching instruction to a connection apparatus(switches) may be needed.

Next, when the access load to a physical disk on a storage apparatusbecomes excessive, the following procedure is performed.

The path switching judging function instructs the storage apparatusthrough the path switching function a switching that designates anoverloaded volume. A copy of the volume is created on another physicaldisk that is light on access load and has a room for storage (901).

The physical disk on the storage apparatus that is accessed by thevolume is changed to the copy destination (902). In this procedure, theswitching can be made without changing the access ports to the storageapparatus as viewed externally. For a zone setting, a switchinginstruction to a connection apparatus (switches) may be needed.

By using the path switching judging function, the administrator cannavigate through switching methods according to the bottleneck section,and can readily take an appropriate procedure, which reduces the workload on the administrator.

In accordance with the present invention, a possible bottleneck sectioncan be automatically pointed out based on the structure of the storagesystem, and therefore the problem can be quickly found. Also, after abottleneck section is discovered, an appropriate switching procedure canbe readily started according to the bottleneck section, such that theoperation load on the storage system can be reduced.

While the description above refers to particular embodiments of thepresent invention, it will be understood that many modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit thereof. The accompanying claimsare intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the truescope and spirit of the present invention.

The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered inall respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of theinvention being indicated by the appended claims, rather than theforegoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning andrange of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embracedtherein.

1. A management computer coupled to a system, the system comprising aplurality of network equipment including a plurality of computers, aplurality of storage systems storing data accessed from the plurality ofcomputers, and a plurality of switches coupled to the plurality ofcomputers and the plurality of storage systems, comprising: a processor;a display coupled to the processor; and a memory coupled to theprocessor and storing topological information of the system, wherein themanagement computer receives performance information related to trafficamount of ports of the plurality of network equipment in the system atpredetermined time intervals, wherein based on the performanceinformation, the processor selects a particular network equipment, whoseperformance meets a predetermined criterion, from the plurality ofnetwork equipment in the system, wherein the processor identifies eachaccess path including the particular network equipment based on thetopological information, and wherein the display shows the performanceinformation of other network equipment on each identified access path.2. The management computer according to claim 1, wherein the displayshows information indicating a traffic amount of ports of the othernetwork equipment on the each identified access path as the performanceinformation.
 3. The management computer according to claim 2, whereinthe processor further specifies a particular port of the ports of othernetwork equipment, whose traffic amount is greater than a predeterminedthreshold.
 4. The management computer according to claim 2, wherein thedisplay shows a list of the traffic amount of the ports of the othernetwork equipment on the each identified access path.
 5. The managementcomputer according to claim 2, wherein the display shows a graph of thetraffic amount of the ports of the other network equipment on the eachidentified access path.
 6. The management computer according to claim 1,wherein a table of the topological information indicating a connectionrelation among the plurality of network equipment is stored in thememory.
 7. The management computer according to claim 1, wherein thepredetermined criterion is a predetermined value of access time from oneof the plurality of computers to one of the plurality of storagesystems.